Speak of the Devil: Tales of Satanic Abuse in Contemporary England

Product Description The first modern allegations of satanic sexual abuse surfaced in North America during the 1980s, followed a few years later by similar allegations in Britain. Professor La Fontaine, an anthropologist, has studied the literature on satanic abuse in England and conducted a detailed analysis of a number of actual cases. She found no evidence of devil worship. She concludes that behind the hysteria is a social movement, comparable to classic instances of witchcraft accusations and the witch hunts in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. Review 'This modest book is an important contribution to the expanding grey area in which Sociology and Social Anthropology overlap ... In general this book must be of very wide interest and it is an excellent demonstration of how valuable the theory and fieldwork of traditional Social Anthropology can be for a problem-oriented study of contemporary society.' Cambridge Anthropology Book Description The first modern allegations of satanic sexual abuse surfaced in North American during the 1980s, followed a few years later by similar allegations in Britain. Professor La Fontaine, an anthropologist, has studied the literature on satanic abuse in England and conducted a detailed analysis of a number of actual cases. She found no evidence of devil-worship. She concludes that behind the hysteria is a social movement, comparable to classic instances of witchcraft accusations and the witch-hunts in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe.